Isabel and Farlan
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: An innocent question causes a rift in Levi's emotional state, causing Hanji to pick up the pieces and explain to Levi's squad and Eren of the two beloved names that hadn't been spoken from his lips for six long years. Eren realizes that Levi is more human than he ever knew.


_ Isabel and Farlan _

The dumbass question started when Eren and his squad were sitting down discussing plans for the next expedition. Levi watched the brat as he steadily asked question after question as he sipped his tea. The brat's green eyes were bright and clear as he looked around the room, and Levi looked away. Levi ignored the clench in his stomach at the sight, and his eyes wandered over to his squad. How they loved him. He could see it in their eyes. _What fools they are, _Levi thought sourly as he saw Petra patiently answer a dumbass question that Eren had. _What a fool I am to care for them. _He swallowed his tea, remembering the last time he had ever been this close to group of people. Their faces were still firmly etched in his mind. _What fools they were. _As were their deaths.

"How many kills does Levi-_heichō_ have?" Levi pointedly ignored Eren looking at him with his stupid face. "How many assists?" Only those who truly knew Levi knew how tense his body and mind were right now despite the cool exterior he presented himself as. At the corner of his cold eyes, he could Petra watching him worriedly and Eld and Gunter desperately trying to send signals to the dumbass Eren to stop talking. Levi felt his hands tighten over his teacup.

Oluo apparently was stupid enough to not realize how close his _heichō_, the man he admired, was to breaking. He didn't see how Levi's face darkened with every word he spoke, or of how the tea in the teacup started to steadily drip onto the floor from Levi's shaking hands.

"Ninety-nine kills and one assist," Oluo boasted as if the kills were something to be fucking proud of and his own. Eren had the same ridiculous face, and had his dumbass mouth open. Levi's body became rigid when Oluo stated that the data was probably a mistake. "Levi-_heichō_ is the strongest soldier there ever was. There's no way he would need to depend on anyone."

"Oluo!" Petra warned. Her amber eyes flashed.

"But Levi-_heichō_ has to be human too, right?" Eren asked. "I wonder who the ones who assisted him were." Levi hands were now gripping the teacup so tightly he felt the hot material burn his skin. His other hand was limp by his side despite the anger mounting inside him.

"They were probably newbies," Oluo sniffed. He didn't see the glare from Petra or the gestures by Eld or Gunter. "People who died on their first expedition. People who were so scared they couldn't help themselves. Probably shit themselves while getting eaten."

_Crack! _It was at that point that his squad and Eren looked across from them. An audible gasp from Petra seemed far away to Levi. He stared down at the hand that had been holding the teacup, which had splintered and pieces on the floor. Jagged marks of blood smeared across Levi's palm with small pieces of the tea cup embedded in his skin. The hot liquid from the tea crossed his entire hand, which would turn into burns in a couple of hours. Levi heard Petra take his wounded hand in her own, and vaguely heard her yell. Towards him or to Oluo he couldn't tell. Not that it mattered. Levi was surprisingly gentle with her as he pushed her hand away. Normally the mess would disgust him, but now his heart hurt more than his mind. He didn't even step over the tea and small droplets of blood. Levi walked through it. When he heard Oluo and Eren started to stumble a response, Levi glared at them. His face was cold. More than that though, Levi was angry. Enraged. His bored gray eyes turned into dark pools of nothingness. Then he turned away and slammed the door behind him.

"Look what you did, Oluo." Petra snapped as the door's slam faded into silence. "_Heichō_ is angry now!"

"I didn't mean to," Oluo said nervously. He was aware of the glares sent to him by the members of the squad. "Honestly, I thought…"

"You thought what?" Gunter's voice was tainted in disappointment. "You thought he would laugh at you at what you said? You know how he is, and you should know better than anyone."

"He treats everyone with dignity," Eld added, looking Oluo with a hard look. "Even the newest recruits."

"He even held the hand of a dying soldier to comfort him despite the blood coating his hand," Petra stated sadly. Her anger was now gone from her eyes. She eyed the door worriedly. "He's kinder than you."

"Then why does he call me brat?" Eren asked. The fifteen year old was aware of the tension in the room even though he didn't understand. _This is so weird,_ he thought. _He was so angry. Even angrier than I get at times. I don't understand him at all. _"Why would he get so upset over something as stupid as who assisted him killing a Titan?" Eren gulped, aware of how the four sets of eyes glared at him. "He doesn't seem kind at all to me!"

"That's because you don't know him," stated a voice. Eren turned to find another Survey Corps member entering the door. It was a women with glasses and messy brown hair in a ponytail. An uncharacteristic expression of seriousness was on her face, compared to when she had escorted Eren to his trial.

"Hanji-_san_?" She nodded. The eccentric woman pulled up a chair, staring at the puddle of tea and the broken pieces of the teacup. Eren heard her sigh.

"This hasn't happened in a while," she said quietly. Looking at Eren, she said, "Did you know I knew Levi longer than they have?" _How could he put up with this woman? _Eren thought with a nauseating thought. He shook his head, watching as Levi's squad sat down on the table. Hanji-_san _didn't say a word for a moment. Then, "You're probably wondering what made him so upset, aren't you? And how he first met me?" Eren watched the group silently as they nodded, despite the grimaces on some of their faces.

"I've never seen him act like this before," Petra confessed. "I bring him coffee or tea in the mornings, and we've all been with him every day for several years now. I've…never seen him angry."

"That's because you're still a newbie to Levi's squad, Petra," Oluo stated with cheek. Petra reddened at his words, but she didn't reply back. _That's probably a good thing, _Eren thought nervously thinking back to the banter those two had.

"None of you knew him in 844, right?" Hanji-_san _asked. "Six years ago?"

"I was still a trainee," Petra replied.

"I was in the Survey Corps," Gunter replied. Eld and Oluo stated something similar, and Eren thought back to 844, when he had rescued and met Mikasa. The year before his mother had been eaten in front of his eyes by a Titan. _Why is she asking us this now?_

"844 was the year Levi was forced into the Survey Corps." Eren's eyes widened at the statement. Heichō_…has only been in the Survey Corps for six years? What the hell? _His eyes scanned the room for further expressions of shock, but he found none. Levi's squad looked as if they had heard this information before. His shock further escalated when Hanji-_san _added, "The rumors that he was a thug in the Underground were true." Oluo bit his tongue. Eren would have thought the scene comical if the situation hadn't been so serious. Gunter and Eld had grim expressions on their faces, and Petra was looking at Hanji-_san _through wide eyes.

"I thought…it was just a rumor," Petra stated breathlessly. "When I heard it during training, I just dismissed it, thinking that everyone was overreacting."

"So, he's not the right suitor for you, right, Petra?" Oluo teased. _Please, not now, _Eren begged. "There's another one right here."

"I don't care about that," Petra said fiercely to him. "I don't care about that at all. Hanji-_san_, how is this related to this idiot's answer about _Heichō_'s Survey Corps record?"

"I remember hearing about a criminal who was inducted into the Survey Corps," Gunter stated. His face was pensive. "Everyone hated that, thinking to themselves that we were so low as to take a criminal from the Underground. They even thought the good-for-nothing thug would die on his first expedition. Personally, I didn't care at all. Any type of strength is better than none. I just didn't imagine it would be _Heichō_," he said softly.

"He seemed too…clean for that kind of life," Eld added. "He presents himself with dignity and is brash and rude, yes, but I never thought that he could come from _that _place." His face became even grimmer.

Eren was bewildered. _What the hell is this place that they keep talking about? _"What is the Underground?"

No one said anything for a moment. They didn't even meet his eyes, and Eren was starting to become impatient from the tension in the air.

"It's a place where the sun always dies," Hanji-_san_ stated. Eren looked at her, uncomprehending. _What the hell doe she mean? There's always sun! _"Wall Sina is thought to be a place of luxury and the center of politics and art," she said slowly. "However, there is a place down deep below Sina that is pure horror. It's our greatest shame," Hanji-_san _whispered with regret. "Even more than the Walls. A place where there is no sun or laughter. Only death."

"It sounds like you're talking about hell," Eren added. He meant the statement as a joke, but his stomach turned when Hanji-_san _nodded.

"It is stated that when every ten seconds pass, a person dies in the Underground. From starvation. From murder. From simply being too weak to survive." Hanji-_san_'s eyes were somber as she continued. "There are people there who steal and murder just to survive. It's a place from rejects from society and die where they don't have to be seen. It's a place where mothers smother their newborn babies to not let them live in that hell." Eren's horror grew with every word. His saliva got stuck in his throat. "Levi was a criminal because he had to survive. And survive he did," she said with a grim smile.

"He wasn't alone that day when Erwin came to force him to join the Survey Corps," Hanji-_san _continued. Her voice was quiet now, with a hint of sadness. "There were two people with him that day." She bit her lip and sighed. "I still remember their faces and smiles, and," she stated with a tremor, "how much they loved him.

"What were their names, Hanji-_san_?" Petra whispered.

For a moment there was nothing but ragged breathing. "Isabel Magnolia…and Farlan Church. You may think that Levi thought of them as mere friends," she said with a glance at Oluo and Eren, "but you're absolutely wrong about that. There is no concept of family in the Underground. Isabel was abandoned by her mother when she was very young, and was forced to survive on her own. Farlan's parents had been murdered before his very eyes. I know nothing about Levi's earliest origins, but it must be truly terrible…because even they didn't know." Hanji-_san_ paused. "I still remember that Isabel called Levi _niichan_. She adored him. She would die for him." Eren almost gasped when he saw that Hanji-_san _was crying. "She would have, given the chance. I still remember when she told me of how Levi cleaned all the men's barracks without giving a shit." She slightly smiled, as did Levi's squad. "He was always a clean-freak, according to her."

Hanji-_san _wiped away her premature tears. "I remember Farlan too. He told Levi off for not being sociable." She laughed, but the laughter didn't meet her eyes. "All of us were shocked when three criminals joined the Survey Corps. We were introduced to them, and I remember thinking that Levi looked the least happy of the group. Isabel was so sweet," Hanji-_san _whispered. "She had red hair and green eyes. Actually," she said with a small smile towards Eren, "Isabel reminds me of you."

"I-is that why he doesn't like me? Because...I _look _like her?" Hanji-_san _didn't answer. She only smiled sadly at him.

"Farlan was dedicated to Levi too. He respected him, and thought of him as a brother. I think they all thought of each other as siblings. He was the calmest of the three. I heard you talking to yourselves about Levi's Titan killing skills," she said without any emotion. "It is true; he assisted in a kill, but that was the only and final time. I remember when it happened. All three of them went after the Titan. It was an abnormal, and the veterans of the Survey Corps were afraid. Not them, though." Levi's squad and Eren listened to Hanji-_san _talk, drinking in every word she said. Petra was quiet, her hands linked, and her expression somber. The others had grim looks, and Eren actually felt him getting sick as he hung onto every word. "You should have seen them that day," Hanji-_san _added. "They were so good. In synch. They knew what to do when it took veterans like me years to figure out. We watched them after the expedition, asking them how the used their 3D Maneuver Gear so effortlessly. Isabel and Farlan were good, but Levi especially. I think we all realized then how much we needed Levi. His strength made is realize how close we were to losing, and of how much we would depend on him. We started treating them with respect, and not with the scorn and superiority we had felt over them."

"Hanji-_san_," Petra whispered carefully, "did…they die on the next expedition?"

"Yes," the woman breathed. There was only the sound of Eren's heartbeat in his head. _They…died? _Somehow Eren found that hard to believe. He felt a hard ball forming in his stomach, and his eyes widened at the thought of Isabel and Farlan dying. It felt as if he knew them, as if he had met them through Hanji-_san_'s stories.

"There was zero visibility when it happened. There was so much rain. There was thunder and lightning. Levi got separated from his squad. I…only know this because Levi told me the story when he was so incredibly drunk a year after their deaths." Hanji-_san_ swallowed, and she didn't meet anyone's eyes. "I haven't seen him broken since then. He cried. He cried so much. I know he was drunk, but it seemed that he was finally letting his wounded heart finally bleed." _Stop, _Eren wanted to tell her. _Stop talking. I don't want to hear anymore! _But he didn't say anything. Instead, his horror increased Hanji-_san _reached the end of the story. "Levi watched them die." Tears were streaming from her eyes. "He watched Farlan get eaten."

"Isabel wasn't eaten. She was…crushed. Her entire body became a river of blood when a Titan slipped and fell on another." Eren couldn't speak. Inside his mind, he saw the death of his mother again. His hands were clenched into fists as he thought about the man he knew now that he knew nothing about. "Farlan was eaten right after. He raised his hand and saluted to Levi as he died." Hanji-_san _licked her lips, swallowing some of the tears that came in her mouth. "Levi was too late to save them even as he cut off the arm of the Titan that had eaten Farlan. He told me that "'the choice he made back then was wrong.'" He thought…they would be fine on their own. He killed them all," she continued. "He killed all the Titans. Levi even cut open the Titan to save Farlan, but he was already…dead." Horror filled through Eren's veins. _I…didn't even do that. How…desperate…?_

He thickly swallowed, trying not to be sick. He saw that Petra was crying. Eld, Gunter, and Oluo had stoned looks on their faces. "He killed them all, and all that remained was a sea of steam and blood stained on the ground. Everyone in his squad had died. Everyone. Levi told me, "'I wasn't thinking then when I saw her severed head on the ground. I…had hoped that she would have died in one piece, but shit happens. I closed her eyes. They were still fucking open.'" After that…Levi doesn't like to talk about them. He seemed to erase them from his mind. He seemed to have no emotions at all anymore. That's what I thought until when he became a squad leader, he told the recruits about choices and faith…and having a choice with the least regrets." Hanji-_san _stood slowly, her movements slightly unsteady. "He loved them, you know. And he lost them. He doesn't talk about Isabel and Farlan because of the pain. And that includes his Survey Corps record." Her tired eyes reached Oluo's, and his eyes were burning in shame. "They're directly attached to it, and he hates when people call him Humanity's Strongest because Levi couldn't even save the girl who called him _niichan_, and the boy who thought of him as a brother." She closed her eyes. "Even so….Levi said that his choice was one that he made with no regrets."

"But…Hanji-_san_…!"

"They continue to live on in him," Hanji-_san _stated softly. Her gaze broke away from Levi's squad and Eren. She opened the door, and said quietly, "Levi, are ready to come back in?"

Eren and the squad were stunned to see Levi walk inside the door. His eyes were no longer angry, and his expression was calm. Oluo flinched when Levi's eyes met his, but Levi had no such misgivings. "Stop, Oluo. I don't care if you say the shittiest of things."

"_Heichō_, you're still hurt!" Petra touched his still-wounded hand in his. The bleeding had stopped, but blisters were already forming. "You need to take better care of yourself."

Levi stared at her for a moment. "That can wait. First I have to clean up this shitty mess." He immediately crouched down to the spilled tea and the broken teacup and began to search for cleaning supplies. He ignored Petra's cry of "_Heichō_!" as he began to use soap and warm water.

"Petra's a lot like Isabel that way," Hanji-_san _added with a small smile as she watched the reluctant Petra cleaning with Levi. "She cares for him the same way Isabel did, although she would be jealous of her."

"Jealous?" Eren wondered. "Why?"

"I can't say," Hanji-_san _said with a small laugh. "She would be very annoyed at you, Oluo."

"What? Why?" Eren almost snickered at the tone the man used.

"You constantly imitate Levi, and she would hate anyone that would mock her _niichan_. Unlike Petra, she would also kick your ass."

If Levi heard them talk about Isabel, he didn't see to notice. He continued cleaning though, even though the tea was gone from the floor and Petra had discarded the shards of the teacup. _Wait… _Eren thought.

"Farlan would have liked all of you," Hanji-_san _continued. "He would have probably find it hilarious that you imitate Levi." Levi was still cleaning, even though there was nothing left. _Does cleaning make the pain go away? _Eren thought as he watched as Levi reluctantly hand over the soap and towels to Petra as she talked to him quietly. Hearing of how Humanity's Strongest had lost his two best friends – his family – to Titans caused Eren to reconsider what he thought of him.

Eren thought he had met a cold man without any emotions attached, and without anyone that cared for him. He was wrong.

Eren thought that he had never met such a brave person.


End file.
